VARANASI ( Also known as BENARAS or KASHI ) is the oldest living city in the world with a known history of over 3000 years. Mark Twain once wrote, “Varanasi is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” This historic city existed even when Sri Budha was a young boy. Varanasi belongs to the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, situated by the west bank of holy Ganga River. The revered and ancient city Varanasi is the religious centre of the world of Hindus, Budhists, Jains & Sikhs. Even after several centuries of destruction by Mughals & other invaders, this city still stands, where the past & present, eternity & continuity, philosophy & wisdom co-exist. To Hindus, Kashi is as holy as Mecca to Muslims & Jerusalem to Christians. There is a common belief that you need to get an invitation from the God to visit Varanasi. I feel this has some significance in real life too. Though I used to procrastinate a lot, the trip got materialized unexpectedly, when I was not really prepared for it. One of the main attractions in Varanasi must be its street life, and it […]

“THE HANDSOME BULL ( KOLE BASAVA )” A tradition or folk art of Southern India called “Kole Basava”. The elaborately decorated bulls accompanied by their masters are trained to entertain people . The pictures are from the Indian state of Karnataka. These people are gypsies or nomads who wander around the streets, blessing people in exchange for money, clothes or food. The masters are usually talented musicians who play some musical instruments or demonstrate some trick. He may even ask questions to the bull and the bull will nod his head to answer Yes or No . The heavy bulls also perform some stunts like standing on the stomach of a person without injuring him. The bull being associated with Hindu God Shiva, has been considered holy in India. Women of the villages offer ragi, paddy, chillies, salt and tamrind. They even worship the bulls with turmeric, vermillion, agarbathi sticks. The kole basavas are taken good care by their masters because they fill their feeding bowls. During performance, the bulls are gaily dressed, colourful ribbons are tied to the horns and are capped at the tips. Anklets are tied to its legs and a bell around its neck. One can […]